CSPAN - Washington Journal Rep. Nanette Barragan

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May 6, 2025 19:34-20:03 - CSPAN

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Washington Journal Rep. Nanette Barragan

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pedro echevarria

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robert gaylon ross

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pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Our final guest of the morning, Representative, Nanette Barrigan, with Democrat from California.
		She is the co-chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, also serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
		Welcome back to Washington Journal.
unidentified		Thank you for having me.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		When it comes to that steering and policy committee, what's the work specifically of that committee?
unidentified		Well, the Steering Policy Committee is kind of a leadership structure of the U.S. House of Representatives.
		We meet, we talk every week about strategy, policy, everything there is.
		What the Steering Policy Committee has started to do is to do an on-the-road initiative.
		We have had hearings in Washington, roundtables in Washington, but now it's about going out into the community, talking to people.
		We were just in Rancho Mirage this past weekend, hearing and having a town hall, hearing from people about what they care about.
		We heard about things like Medicaid, concerns about cuts to Medicaid.
		We heard from veterans.
		We heard from parents about the cuts to Department of Education.
		So we're on the road next to Louisiana, the speaker's home state.
		So we will be hearing from people there as well.
		I think it's so important that we go out into communities to hear directly from the people, especially at a time when Republicans are refusing to do town halls.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		And so then what's the end goal of going around hearing these things?
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		What do you take back to Washington and how do things change?
unidentified		Well, first of all, it's hearing people's stories and sharing people's stories, but it's also using those stories in committee hearings, talking to Republican colleagues about their own constituents and highlighting the importance of the very programs they're trying to cut, like Medicaid.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		When it comes to the meetings themselves, do you hear from Democrats particularly about Democrats not pushing back against this administration enough?
		I know Governor Pritzker made those comments to that effect a couple weeks ago.
		How do you take that in?
unidentified		Well, we hear from a lot of Democrats who are frustrated with this administration.
		I think it's reflective of all the terrible disaster, the chaos, the confusion, and the corruption that's happening at the highest levels in the administration right now.
		And, you know, asking what more we can do, asking where we go from here.
		Now, the Democrats have been working very closely with organizations on doing things in the courts, for example, and litigating.
		We have also gone into the communities.
		Part of that's town hall sharing stories.
		And it is just an all-hands-on approach where we need everybody speaking up and speaking out.
		And so just today, for example, I would love to hear from some of your callers in places like Kentucky, Louisiana, West Virginia, to hear back about what they think about cuts to Medicaid, because these are the stories that are the most powerful to get us in the committee to share those stories to their members of Congress to hope that they will maybe change their minds or be willing to vote in the interest of their constituents,
		not for billionaire tax cuts for the rich.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		I suppose that parallels well with you being on the Energy and Commerce Committee, considering that one of the tasks of that committee is to find Medicaid cuts to pay for the reconciliation bill.
		Absolutely.
		So with that information, what do you take to that committee when you eventually meet on these kind of topics?
unidentified		Well, one of the things that I've been doing in the committee is when I hear constituent stories from some of my Republican colleagues or even pointing out the number of Medicaid recipients that they have in their districts is talking about it in the committee.
		That is something that your colleagues don't like to hear about when you're in a committee and reminding them of how many people are at stake and what's on the table.
		And there's nothing right now on the table more than the economy, rising prices, Medicaid cuts.
		These are the number one things we're hearing.
		And of course, you know, I represent the ports of Los Angeles and we are seeing a drop, a significant drop, about 30-35% drop in imports.
		That's going to mean jobs.
		That's going to mean higher prices everywhere.
		And pretty soon it's going to mean shortage on the shelves.
		So people across this country are going to see less inventory, less things available from shortage, things we haven't really seen since COVID.
		And this is the supply chain concern we have.
		And what are we voting on this week in the U.S. Congress?
		Instead of voting on something to bring down costs, something to help the American people, we're voting on renaming the Gulf of Mexico, which just shows you how out of touch Republicans and this administration are with the American people and their concerns right now.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Representative Berrigan with us until 10 o'clock.
		If you want to ask your questions, Democrats 202748-8000.
		Republicans 202-748-8001.
		And Independents 202-748-8002.
		You can also text us your thoughts at 202-748-8003.
		Earlier today, we had a conversation with Representative Frank Belcher on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
		He talked about Medicaid.
		He talked about necessarily when it comes to those cuts, it's not necessarily cuts.
		It's slowing the rate of growth.
		When you hear that, what do you think of that idea?
unidentified		It means cuts.
		We're talking about providing less funding to the states.
		Some of these states have something called trigger laws, which means they're going to stop their expansion of Medicaid.
		Medicaid is a health care program that's for low-income people.
		It's for women.
		It's for children.
		It's for the disabled.
		It's the most vulnerable.
		Just to give you an example, in Louisiana, they call it Healthy Louisiana.
		That's their Medicaid program.
		You had 500 million people get on that, 500,000 people, I should say, get on that with the expansion.
		Those people would be at risk if the federal government is going to stop giving as much matching funding or dollars to the state.
		That means people are going to be kicked off of Medicaid.
		And so it's all a word salad for Republicans.
		You can't slice it anyway.
		You don't get to $880 billion without cutting Medicaid.
		That's going to eliminate benefits.
		It's going to kick people off Medicaid.
		It's going to make people's premiums go up, higher prices.
		This is about health care.
		We shouldn't be cutting it for the most vulnerable.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Well, one of the other terms, at least in a story recently in The Hill, about one of those ideas is a per capita cap saying that key Republicans say that it's not technically a cut to avoid the politically charged label.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Is it the same thing we're talking about as far as a cap is concerned and what states get?
unidentified		Absolutely.
		That's exactly the translation is.
		Cuts to Medicaid.
		So when you hear that, that's exactly what that is.
		It means that they're going to limit the amount of money that the federal government will be sending to the states per person, something we don't do right now.
		That's going to mean that the states can't make up the difference.
		They're going to kick people off Medicaid.
		They're going to reduce benefits.
		That means basically higher prices.
		It all translated into the same thing.
		Like I keep saying, it's going to be a word salad.
		They're going to call it what they are, but it's going to mean less benefits, less people on Medicaid, which is health care for the most vulnerable.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		There was supposed to be a hearing this week on the reconciliation bill.
		That got pushed off a week.
		What's the message that you get from that push-off?
unidentified		Well, it just goes to show you this is an administration and House Republicans have been following them off the cliff.
		It's just more chaos, more confusion.
		I know that there are some Republicans that are not comfortable with this because this is their constituents.
		And we need those Republicans to speak up, which is why we need constituents in your callers to also speak up.
		Call their members of Congress, share their stories, say why this is so important, what Medicaid means to them, so that they can really put a face on what's happening today.
		I do think that you are seeing a postponement, right?
		This was supposed to happen originally last month, and then it got moved to this month.
		And now we're hearing, oh, it may take longer than that.
		That is, I think, an indication of the fact that Republicans are having a hard time because this is about people's health care that they're taking away.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		We have people lined up to talk to you.
		This is from Gary in Kentucky.
		Gary joins us on our line for Republicans for our guests.
		Gary, hello, go ahead.
unidentified		Hello.
		Yeah.
		It seems that every time, well, you know, it took four years by Biden to screw everything up.
		So I was just wondering, there'll be no cuts to Medicaid.
		There'll be no cuts to Social Security.
		The rich won't get any richer.
		And, you know, first of all, if there was somebody that cut Social Security, Medicaid, whatever, their political career has gone down the tubes.
		So Democrats are easy to point out issues, but very weak on doing something about it.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		That's Gary in Kentucky.
unidentified		Well, Gary, this week, House Republicans are renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
		So you talk about a party that's doing really nothing to help the American people, that is not doing anything.
		It does nothing to bring down the cost of living.
		I hear people talk about the cost of rent and groceries and how even gasoline.
		So we are hearing that, and we've seen no action from Republicans.
		I hope that you're right about the Social Security and Medicaid.
		But if you just take a look at the actions, you'll see that there have already been cuts in Social Security.
		Offices have been closed.
		People have been fired.
		That is meaning that people can't even get a hold of somebody on the phone to ask about their Social Security benefits.
		That is a lack of awareness of the importance of Social Security and the services.
		It also means people's checks could be delayed down the line, and it could mean benefits are at risk.
		And there is, by the way, no way to get to getting $880 billion in cuts without touching Medicaid.
		So you will see it.
		You may not believe it now, but you will see it happening when this goes into effect.
		And we'll know shortly when the Energy and Commerce Committee has its hearing in a couple of weeks of how they want to slice it and how they want to call it.
		But there's no way to do it without touching Medicaid.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		This is from Mississippi.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Jay, Independent Line.
unidentified		Go ahead.
		Yes.
		Good morning, Representative.
		I want to ask you something talking about taxes and cuts and this and that.
		You know, us hardworking people out there.
		Are you going to support the legislation that will cut taxes on Social Security and overtime?
		I bet you a $3 bill you'll vote against that.
		That's the reason these labor unions and stuff are now supporting Trump.
robert gaylon ross ▲ ● ▼		And that's the way it's going to be unless it's a big change from y'all.
unidentified		Have a good day.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Jay of Mississippi.
unidentified		Thanks, Jay.
		What you're talking about is a big bill that's going to have lots of cuts, including cuts to taxes for the top 1% and the rich at the expense of the most vulnerable, which is going to be cuts to things like SNAP benefits and food snap, which is a food benefits and a food assistance program for the most vulnerable and low-income folks.
		It's cuts to Medicaid.
		That is something my constituents do not support and do not want.
		Those programs that you're talking about that would cut taxes on things like overtime are going to be put into a much larger bill that is going to take away Medicaid.
		And that's something that I will not do.
		Separately, I'm happy to look at no taxes on things like overtime.
		But when you combine it with something like cutting health care to millions of people and throwing them off their health care and making the rich richer, that's something I can't support.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		The reconciliation bill also deals with immigration issues.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		What's your most concerns from that portion of it?
unidentified		Well, in the past, the parliamentarian has said that immigration is not a viable thing to be changing in reconciliation.
		And when that happened under Democrats, we said, okay, my biggest concern is that the Senate Republicans are going to do something that they said they would not do.
		And that is basically originally they would say they would abide by the parliamentarian, that they won't do it.
		They're going to do whatever they want, just like this president has done whatever they want.
		We know that this administration is just totally out of line, totally disregarding the law, disregarding the Supreme Court and what they're doing on immigration and due process so that people don't have the ability to be heard in court.
		This is something even you'll see even that you've seen conservatives say is against the Constitution, against American values.
		And that is my concern is that they're going to go along with this erosion of our due process.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		When you went on the town halls, how much did you hear about immigration and deportation policy?
unidentified		We heard it probably fourth when you talk about cost of living increase going up, increased costs, Medicaid cuts.
		But we have heard it, especially from people who have been very concerned about the erosion of people's ability to be heard in court in due process.
		We had a woman just this weekend tearing up, just sobbing about the fact of what happened to this Oklahoma family.
		The woman and her children, they raided her house and her home in Oklahoma.
		U.S. citizens went in, destroyed her place, took her money, and on the way out the door just said, we're sorry for being rough.
		I mean, that is not the America that we believe in.
		That is not what should be happening in America.
		And you've got people fearful, even U.S. citizens.
		And that is wrong to do that.
		And I wish we had more of our Republican colleagues standing up and speaking out like constituents have been talking about across the country.
		So there is great fear.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Let's go to Roger Roger in Nebraska, Independent Line.
		You're on with our guest, Representative Nanette Berrigan, Democrat from California.
		Hello.
unidentified		Yeah, good morning.
		Yeah, I wonder where this lady was the previous four years when the Biden administration completely destroyed the country, basically, with $5 gas and 9% inflation.
		But she's talking about due process for illegal immigrants.
		Where was she at when they let, what, 10, 15, 20 million people into this country with no due process?
		You talk about giving each one of these illegal a court date, a due process to have their case presented in court.
		You know, that would take three, four, 500 years to have that done.
		You know, it's just ridiculous to listen to the Democrats now when I look back on the previous four years.
		And so, like, say, I'm just amazed at what she says.
		And I guess that's my comment.
		Thank you.
		Well, I believe in the Constitution.
		I stand with the Constitution.
		And even Justice Anthony Scalia believed in due process under the Constitution for people, whether they were undocumented or whether they're U.S. citizens.
		There's a real danger here if we don't believe in due process, and that is that somebody can easily accuse you, anybody out there, a citizen, of something, and you wouldn't have your day in court to be able to present evidence.
		That's wrong.
		It's against the Constitution.
		It's the most fundamental basic principles that we have is due process, it's the ability to be heard in court.
		As far as the last four years, I'm proud of the Biden administration and what House Democrats were able to do in passing an infrastructure bill, something this current president wanted to do, never could get it done.
		It's reinvesting in our country in roads and bridges and infrastructure.
		It's investing in things and getting things done like the Chips and Science Bill, which is investing in America and manufacturing of the semiconductors right here in America and so much more.
		We also had reopened schools and put money into the economy.
		So I'm proud of the last four years.
		And under this administration, we've only seen prices go up.
		We've seen him do absolutely nothing to bring down those prices, even though he ran on that, even though that was his day one promise.
		And now he's saying it's okay if prices go up.
		People can feel the pain.
		And this reckless tariff policy, which is basically costing people more money, the cost of your sneakers are going up.
		The cost of your clothes is going up.
		And this is intentional by this president.
		So we have seen nothing by this administration and House Republicans in actually doing something to bring down the cost.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		You had talked about what's happening on the ports, particularly in the place you're serving, California.
		Talk about the larger economic aspect.
		If ships are not coming in, ultimately, what does that do to an economy?
unidentified		Well, what's happening is the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach together, the San Pedro Bay complex, is the busiest by container volume.
		They bring in all this trade from Asia.
		And so we're talking about toys.
		We're talking about sneakers.
		We're talking about clothes.
		A lot of things that people order and people need.
		So right now there's a halt.
		They're not even bringing in some of the items that are supposed to be coming in because of the tariffs and how much it's going to cost.
		What does that mean for the American consumer?
		Number one, the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, those imports touch every congressional district.
		They get on trains, those products, they go fanned out throughout the country.
		No trade or less trade means jobs, truck driving jobs, it means port jobs.
		It means if you're in a warehouse that takes these products, jobs there too.
		So jobs are at stake and higher prices.
		As you can imagine, store shelves, if they have less availability, prices go up, demand goes up.
		We'll see exactly what happened under COVID.
		And of course, price gouging, which unfortunately companies do when they see this demand.
		So we have started to hear the president and even House Republicans talk about the pain.
		The pain they're talking about is this pain.
		It's the result from what I call the Trump tax on the American people, which is really tariffs.
		And so people are going to be filling it across the country and have less availability of the things that they need.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		This is Sean.
		He's in Hesperia, California.
		Democrats line hi.
unidentified		Hi, good morning.
unidentified		And it's a she, Pedro, but that's okay.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		I'm sorry.
		Apologies.
		Apologies.
unidentified		No worries.
		Pedro, no worry.
		No worries.
		I have a comment and a question.
		Okay, my comment is about immigration.
		We've been having immigration problems since I was born in 1960.
		And we have each president that talk about that they're going to do something about immigration.
		I remember when Reagan did the 11,000 amnesty, and a lot of people weren't happy then, but we thought that would be a solution to our immigration problem.
		Well, once we get further down, then you have all of these businesses that actually are not following the law.
		They are primary one of the problems, too.
		And also, us as America, we need to make sure that people are coming in the correct way and going to be vested.
		I would like to go work in other countries, but I know I have to be vested, and I'm not going to be able to lean on their system.
		However, we are America, and we're a little bit more friendly to help a lot of other people.
		What comes to my question now is: I work in a mental health field.
		I am a social worker.
		I am starting to see our clients that are on Medicaid, their Social Security benefits are being cut.
		And I'm going to tell you how they're doing it.
		They're having, like, when our clients want to go to work at some of the places for them to become independent or still kind of be independent as everyone else.
		They're not getting paid the same amount, but they're giving them a low amount that they couldn't go over the Social Security benefits.
		So now we're coming into when we get to sub-minimum wage and bumping everyone up.
		Now, these clients are getting kicked off of Social Security or the benefits are being reduced.
		And a lot of our clients are in boarding care.
		Boarding care in California is $1,420.
		So I just want to know what is our government doing about our mental health population for when those benefits cut, where are they going to live?
		Are they going to be back on the streets?
		And also, think about it, people.
		Now we have to think about our safety.
		Thank you very much, ma'am, for being on here.
		I'm a loyal Democrat and callers from Kentucky and Louisiana.
		Start paying your fair share before you come after us because we're paying for you.
		Sean, thank you.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Sean, thank you very much.
unidentified		Well, thank you.
		She raises a very important topic, and that is mental health.
		And we are seeing cuts to mental health.
		There's cuts all around in the Republican bill.
		And mental health is one where we really can't afford it because then it's going to result in more homelessness, people not getting the services that they need.
		And so this is House Democrats are fighting against in the cuts when it comes to mental health.
		And when you talk about this issue as well, it's those people who are on Medicaid and those people who have access to health care that need that.
		So we will continue to fight to make sure there is more investments in mental health services and no cuts or less cuts to them because we want to make sure that everybody has that ability.
		On the immigration front, you know, immigration has been an issue for decades.
		This is not a new issue.
		Ronald Reagan, as she mentioned, was somebody who came to the table who is willing to say, you know, the people who've been undocumented to this country should have the ability to go to work, have the ability to not be afraid.
		And if you think about immigrants and you take a look at the economy, the economy has been growing and doing well because of the contributions and the labor of the immigration workforce.
		And that continues to be the case today of the need for workers.
		We certainly hear farmers talk about this.
		We certainly hear those in other industries that have a shortage of workers.
		But look, my parents were immigrants.
		They came to this country and contributed to it.
		My dad was a TV repairman.
		My mother cleaned homes.
		She worked in a factory.
		And I believe this nation is built on immigrants, contribute to this country and are just, you know, are our neighbors and our friends.
		And so I support, continue to support that we have a strong immigration system.
		It's completely broken and needs to be redone.
		I completely agree on that front.
		Right now, there's no political will by Republicans.
		It's just deporting people, getting rid of people, people who have been here legally, people who have a court order saying that they could be here legally.
		This is an administration that's defying all of that and deporting people anyways, and that's a real danger to this country.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		In the case of Kilmar Obrego-Garcia, it was your governor, Gavin Newsom, who said that the case was a distraction and that the attention was a debate that the Republicans wanted.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		What do you make of that characterization?
unidentified		Well, I think what you see happening from this administration is crazy things are always being thrown out, and sometimes it's trying to distract about what's happening to the American people, whether it's high prices or the Medicaid.
		It doesn't mean that it's not important.
		And I do believe in the case of Mr. Garcia, the Supreme Court has spoken.
		The White House and this administration have defied those orders.
		I think the Chief Justice should do something to make sure that this administration complies with the Supreme Court and with other courts, which is something you're seeing even Stephen Miller say: oh, well, the president's got the authority, and you shouldn't have judges telling him what he can and can't do.
		That is not the way we work.
		We have co-equal branches of government with the Congress and the administration, of course, and with the courts.
		And so it is befuddling to me why House Republicans have given up their power.
		I mean, they've done it on tariffs and said, you know what, we're not even going to vote on this.
		They've given up their power on so much more and said, hey, you know what?
		We just trust the president.
		Do whatever you want.
		That's not how this country was set up by our founders, and it's not how it should be functioning.
		I wish they would take their power back and grow spine, frankly, and do what's in the interest of their constituents.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		The House is just about to come in.
		We will hear from Anthony in Staten Island, Republican line.
		We're running a little short on time, Anthony.
		So jump right in.
unidentified		Ma'am, with an approval rating in the low 20s, why would anybody believe your party?
		You lied for four years.
		Now you're lying about immigration.
		That man was caught trafficking people across the border with no luggage.
		He got caught in a murder roundup with MS-13 members.
		He was there.
		He beat his wife twice.
		These are the people you're fighting for.
		And Social Security and Medicaid, all those cuts, you're lying because there's so many illegal aliens on those programs.
		That's what they're going to cut.
		But you guys lie and you scare people that don't really look into the facts.
		Why would anybody believe you, people?
		You don't have any solutions to the problem.
		You just lie about everything Trump's trying to do.
		It's been three months.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Okay.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		That's Anthony in Staten Island.
unidentified		Well, in three months, we've seen the economy tank under this president.
		We've seen no legislation by this House Republican Congress to lower prices and bring those prices down, despite the fact that this president said that would be the number one priority.
		So, you know, we can just look at the actions, we can look at the result, and the result has been a chaos and confusion and really disaster.
		It's the reason also why you see Trump have the lowest approval rating that he's at.
		And so the American people need to continue to speak up and share your stories in all districts across this country, Republican districts and Democratic districts, and remind their members of Congress what is at stake.
		And what's at stake for so many that I've heard is the cost of living, the cost of groceries, it's the cost of housing, and of course it's their health care, which is Medicaid, Social Security, food assistance, all of those that are so very important.
		The House Democrats are continuing to fight to make sure people have that access.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		What are the next town halls that the committee or the steering committee is planning on?
unidentified		Well, the Steering Policy Committee is having a hearing on small business next week.
		That will be here in Washington.
		But the on-the-road one will be in Louisiana, May 23rd.
		So that's the next on-the-road that we'll be doing.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Representative Nanette Berrigan, she serves as the co-chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, also a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		Representative, thanks for your time.
unidentified		Great.
unidentified		Thank you for having me.
pedro echevarria ▲ ● ▼		According to educationdata.org, there's some statistics when it comes to student loan debt in the United States.
		This is provided by that website from October to December.
		Taking a look at that, about $1.7 trillion. of outstanding federal student loan balances currently in the United States.
		43 million student borrowers have student loan debt.
		The federal student loan debt represents about 92% of all student loan debt.
		The average federal student loan debt balance, $38,375, and 5% of federal student loan dollars were in default as of 2024's fourth financial quarter.
		Again, that's provided by educationaldata.org.
		According to those, to that point of the defaulted student debt, the federal government, the education department specifically resuming collections on that debt, Fox News reporting on it saying it was a pause in the payments that occurred in the pandemic, which ended in 2023.
		But the Biden administration extended that no consequences period through the 2024 election as the former president tried to pass loan forgiveness programs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
		Quote, while Congress mandated that student and parent borrowers begin to repay their student loans in October of 2023, the Biden-Harris administration refused to lift the collections pause and kept borrowers in a confusing limbo.

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